Dude where have you been?

I havent posted in over a month because I havent been inspired to write anything for at-least that long. It's been 8 weeks since I learned about my torn wrist (extensor tenosynovectomy). My surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. I am not quite sure how I obtained the surgery, but it was probably related to poor sprawl techniques during a training session. I recall doing more than 50 live opponent sprawls that day.

In any event, it has affected almost every aspect of my physical fitness, with the exception of my cardio. My cardio didnt need help from my wrist to regress, as it had the assistance of my knee, which also got strained during a move 3 weeks ago. While moving into my new place, loading and unloading, and walking up and down stairs for 18 straight hours caused my surgically repaired knee (torn acl) to swell. 3 weeks later, 80% of the swelling is gone but some of the pain remains. I should be good to go in another week.

This down time has been especially frustrating as I was looking forward to NAGA in my hometown next month. There is also a rare IBJJF tournament here in a few weeks that I will be missing.

I have not updated the site in a while due to a temporary lifestyle change that will occupy most of my time for the next 2 months. I am still training 3x per week (when I am not injured) and fully intend to keep fresh info on my site. 

For the time being, a great Wordpress Blog called MattsDailyJournal, posted a mind map of a white belt curriculum, complete with related videos of each technique. I believe that this is a great resource for anybody just getting into the sport or any white belt looking to improve. Check it out here: http://mattsdailyjournal.wordpress.com/2012/06/04/interactive-bjj-white-belt-curriculum/

Are we doing it wrong? The Antibacterial edition

I went to the dermatologist the other day and received a prescription for a topical anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic to treat what was believed to be either adult acne or folliculitis. Rather than trying one medication for 6 weeks and then switch to the other if I saw no results, the doc wanted to give both a try simultaneously.  While reading the warning label for the antibiotic I was alarmed by the following:

If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

Changes in your skin or nails that may be signs of infection with a fungus

For the past year that I have been practicing Jiu Jitsu, I have been using antibacterial soaps, thinking it was essential to prevent the exchange of micro-organisms like bacteria and fungus. As it turns out, I may have been doing myself a grave injustice. After searching the National Library of Medicine and reading studies performed at the University College Cork in Ireland on Science Daily, I was pretty convinced.

First I believe I should clarify that there is a difference between antibiotic and antibacterial. Antibacterials kill various forms of bacteria while antibiotics typically inhibit the growth of various micro-organisms, including bacteria and fungi. Antibiotics are administered to treat bacterial infections by making their environment inhospitable, resulting in the eventual demise of the bacteria strand.  Bacteria and fungi have an interesting dichotomy on our bodies. They both tend to be prevalent in warm moist areas of our bodies. In many circumstances, healthy bacteria can prevent the spread of fungus infections by fighting for the same real estate as the yeast. Therefore they are constantly in a population war. The faster bacteria multiply, the slower fungus can grow. Look at the warning label for any antibiotic, like Clindamycin, and it will probably state to discontinue use if you encounter a fungus infection.  It is a safe assumption that if inhibiting the growth of bacteria can cause fungus to thrive, then killing bacteria with an antibacterial soap could make your feet seem like an all inclusive vacation resort for fungus.

Soaps like Defense, that specialize in using natural ingredients like Tee Tree Oil to fight fungus are great but are not typically readily available in your local market. Instead of paying the premium for these specialty soaps online, I usually find myself  trolling forums and seeing recommendations for antibacterial soaps like Dial and Safeguard. I know tons of fellow Jiu Jitsu enthusiasts use these same antibacterial soaps, so I just wanted to make sure that you do the research before buying a soap that may effectively cause the same think you are trying to prevent.

Nice no-gi choke video

Great video

Guard passes and friction burns

Yesterday's class was full of promise. My rib injury did not appear to be hindering me so I was determined to roll. Also I had spent a lot of time studying the white and blue belt sections of Ribeiro's Jiu Jitsu University book. I was anxious to try out my new defensive techniques. 

We practiced 3 double underhook open guard passes. This first of which involved grabbing a hold of the back of your opponent's gi top, hopping up to your feet then flipping them onto their shoulder. I then plant my shoulder and head against their inverted lower back and guide them over to a turtle position where I take the back.

The next variation involved my opponent grasping my wrists. I extend one leg at a 90 degree angle parallel to me opponents bicep. I then rotate my leg inward, putting pressure on the bicep as I rip my wrist free. The free hand then traps my opponent's leg to the group for the pass to side control.

The last variation also starts with my wrist grasped. I extend one arm out to create space and then use my foot to disengage my arm. I then trap the leg on the same side and transition to side control.

I rolled for the first time in probably 6 weeks. After 6 rounds I was not gassed at all but I was a bit frustrated with my performance. I did alright against the blue I rolled with for 2 rounds. Other than 2 armlocks after being mounted, I held my own. After class I asked him about what I did to put myself in those positions and he told me that when he transitioned to mount, I kept my underhooks, giving him the opportunity to trap my arm. From there he figure-foured the trapped arm and locked in the modified armbar. 

I wasnt really upset about the armlocks because he was an advanced blue who too advantage of every one of my mistakes, which is what he is expected to do. However, my next 2 opponents were white belts who managed to control my posture from the full guard every time. I was never able to get into a strong enough base to even attempt a pass. I always thought of my guard passing within the closed guard to be one of my strong suits. It seemed like every time I found myself in their close guard, I was a second too late from posturing up and ended up on their chest from their collar grips. In one instance, I found myself on the wrong end of an Ezekiel Choke 5 seconds after getting into his guard. 

I came home with a scab on my right hand, elbow, and knee, and the kind of muscle aches that let me know I put some work in. I haven't felt that good pain in a while and look forward to doing t again today. 

Back from injury

In the last 3 months, I have missed time due to needing a steroid injection in my wrist, a 2 week vacation, a badly bruised rib, and a week long business trip. Even though my rib is still a little sore, it's good enough to go over techniques without rolling.

After taking so much time off, I feel like I am starting all over. I did have the opportunity to test the more cerebral aspects of Jiu Jitsu. I spent 20 minutes everyday (well most days) visualizing previously reviewed techniques. After reading many articles on visualization techniques, I was admittedly skeptical. After my 2nd visualization session, I was convinced it worked. I could see myself from the outside looking in work armbars from the closed guard, and had a better grasp of the fluidity of the movements. In class, or while rolling, I would always look at each step as a sequence. First grab wrist, then place foot on hip, then hip escape, etc. When trying to execute the technique it always looked rehearsed. Now I am able to make the armbar look like one fluid movement instead of a series of steps I am going over in my head. It also changed the way I look at the technique. I can see past the steps and see a process, as well as contingencies and escapes.

While I was out, I managed to lose my Vulkan Gi top (still not sure how that happened) and purchased a geeky CTRL Jiu Jitsu tee shirt.

In class today we kept it simple with standing guard passes using a wrist grip. I also spent some time practicing the Galvao windmill sweep (slightly different than the standard windmill). I like the added options of switching to an armbar if your opponent posts up, or even take the back. 

The Galvao sweep to mount can be found here. 

Armbar/Choke combo

In Fundamentals class today, we worked on more guard armbars and gi chokes. However, we also worked on a cool combo armbar/gi choke. To perform it, I have my opponent in my full guard. I trap their right wrist with my left hand. I then get a cross collar grip with my right, as if I am going for a gi choke. You use this to break their posture. They will probably tuck their chin to prevent the choke. Hip out towards their untrapped arm, using your left foot on their hip. Bring your right left up their back and dig your heels into it. If their chin is still tucket, bring the left leg over and lock in the arm bar. If they try to get tall and defend the armbar, grab their left shoulder with your left hand, hip out in the opposite direction (bring your left shoulder towards your left ankle) and lock in the choke. If their chin is tucked again, don't abandon it. Shake their head like a rag doll and you will get it locked everytime.

In this video, he does not do the choke, but he does do the armbar from the lapel grip

I did not roll today since I bruised my ribs in no-gi earlier in the week. I spent that free time working with a new guy on full guard posture and a guard pass. If feels good to no longer be the "new guy" in class.